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Olivia Mitchell (born 31 July 1947) is an Irish former
Fine Gael Fine Gael (, ; English: "Family (or Tribe) of the Irish") is a liberal-conservative and Christian-democratic political party in Ireland. Fine Gael is currently the third-largest party in the Republic of Ireland in terms of members of Dáil à ...
politician who served as a
Teachta Dála A Teachta Dála ( , ; plural ), abbreviated as TD (plural ''TDanna'' in Irish, TDs in English), is a member of Dáil Éireann, the lower house of the Oireachtas (the Irish Parliament). It is the equivalent of terms such as ''Member of Parli ...
(TD) for the Dublin South constituency from 1997 to 2016. Mitchell was born in Birr,
County Offaly County Offaly (; ga, Contae UĂ­bh FhailĂ­) is a county in Ireland. It is part of the Eastern and Midland Region and the province of Leinster. It is named after the ancient Kingdom of UĂ­ Failghe. It was formerly known as King's County, in hono ...
. She was educated at Dominican College on Eccles Street and at
Trinity College Dublin , name_Latin = Collegium Sanctae et Individuae Trinitatis Reginae Elizabethae juxta Dublin , motto = ''Perpetuis futuris temporibus duraturam'' (Latin) , motto_lang = la , motto_English = It will last i ...
, where she qualified with a
Bachelor of Arts Bachelor of arts (BA or AB; from the Latin ', ', or ') is a bachelor's degree awarded for an undergraduate program in the arts, or, in some cases, other disciplines. A Bachelor of Arts degree course is generally completed in three or four years ...
in
Economics Economics () is the social science that studies the Production (economics), production, distribution (economics), distribution, and Consumption (economics), consumption of goods and services. Economics focuses on the behaviour and intera ...
and
Politics Politics (from , ) is the set of activities that are associated with making decisions in groups, or other forms of power relations among individuals, such as the distribution of resources or status. The branch of social science that studies ...
. She was an Economics teacher before entering politics. She first held political office in 1985, when she was elected to
Dún Laoghaire–Rathdown County Council Dún Laoghaire–Rathdown County Council ( ga, Comhairle Contae Dhún Laoghaire–Ráth an Dúin) is the authority responsible for local government in the county of Dún Laoghaire–Rathdown, Ireland. It is one of three local authorities that s ...
. She was
Cathaoirleach Cathaoirleach (; Irish for chairperson; plural: ) is the title of the chair (or presiding officer) of Seanad Éireann, the sixty-member upper house of the Oireachtas, the legislature of Ireland. The current Cathaoirleach, who has held the off ...
(Chair) of the council from 1995 to 1996. She served on the council until 2003. She was an unsuccessful candidate for Dublin South at the
1989 File:1989 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: The Cypress Street Viaduct, Cypress structure collapses as a result of the 1989 Loma Prieta earthquake, killing motorists below; The proposal document for the World Wide Web is submitted; The Exxo ...
and
1992 File:1992 Events Collage V1.png, From left, clockwise: 1992 Los Angeles riots, Riots break out across Los Angeles, California after the Police brutality, police beating of Rodney King; El Al Flight 1862 crashes into a residential apartment buildi ...
general elections. Mitchell was first elected to
Dáil Éireann Dáil Éireann ( , ; ) is the lower house, and principal chamber, of the Oireachtas (Irish legislature), which also includes the President of Ireland and Seanad Éireann (the upper house).Article 15.1.2º of the Constitution of Ireland read ...
as a Fine Gael TD for the Dublin South constituency at the 1997 general election, and was re-elected at the 2002 general election with 5,568 first preferences. She increased this vote significantly at the 2007 general election, polling 9,037 first preferences. In 2001, she received her first front bench position as Spokesperson for Housing and Local Government. She has also served as Opposition spokesperson for Health and Children (2002–2004). In
Enda Kenny Enda Kenny (born 24 April 1951) is an Irish former Fine Gael politician who served as Taoiseach from 2011 to 2017, Leader of Fine Gael from 2002 to 2017, Minister for Defence from May to July 2014 and 2016 to 2017, Leader of the Opposition from ...
's reshuffle in 2004, she took on the Transport portfolio. From 2007 to 2010, she was spokesperson for Arts, Sport and Tourism. In June 2010, she supported
Richard Bruton Richard Bruton (born 15 March 1953) is an Irish Fine Gael politician who has served as a Teachta Dála (TD) for Dublin Bay North since 2016, and previously from 1982 to 2016 for the Dublin North-Central constituency. He is the Chairman of th ...
's leadership challenge to
Enda Kenny Enda Kenny (born 24 April 1951) is an Irish former Fine Gael politician who served as Taoiseach from 2011 to 2017, Leader of Fine Gael from 2002 to 2017, Minister for Defence from May to July 2014 and 2016 to 2017, Leader of the Opposition from ...
. Following Kenny's victory in a motion of confidence, Mitchell was not re-appointed to the front bench. From October 2010 to March 2011, she was party deputy spokesperson on Communications, Energy and Natural Resources with special responsibility for Competition and Consumer Protection. In its final report, the
Mahon Tribunal The Tribunal of Inquiry into Certain Planning Matters and Payments commonly known as the Mahon Tribunal after the name of its last chairman, was a public inquiry in Ireland established by Dáil Éireann in 1997 to investigate allegations of cor ...
's investigation into planning corruption in the Dublin area found Mitchell to have received an inappropriate payment of ÂŁ500 from Frank Dunlop at the time of the 1992 general election. The Mahon Report found that Mitchell had held meetings with Dunlop and Owen O'Callaghan in relation to the Quarryvale project, and was a supporter of the project. "While the evidence would suggest Cllr Mitchell did not solicit the contribution, she nonetheless accepted it in the knowledge of Mr Dunlop's close association with the project," the report found. She did not contest the 2016 general election.


References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Mitchell, Olivia 1947 births Living people Alumni of Trinity College Dublin Members of Dublin County Council Fine Gael TDs Irish schoolteachers Members of Dún Laoghaire–Rathdown Council Members of the 28th Dáil Members of the 29th Dáil Members of the 30th Dáil Members of the 31st Dáil 20th-century women Teachtaí Dála 21st-century women Teachtaí Dála Politicians from County Offaly People from Birr, County Offaly